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SITRA AHRA INTERVIEW

By: A’arab Zaraq

VON: Exclusive Interview with Goat and VENIEN of the legendary cult black metal band VON

Sitra Ahra: 
Hello! How are you?

Goat:
Feeling left out, you?

VENIEN:
Busy

Sitra Ahra:
How does it feel to be back after 20 years? What motivated you to come back from the dead now in 2010?

Goat:
I’m curious to find out how long it will last, and if there is enough motivation and how it will end.

VENIEN:
I’m even more curious.

Sitra Ahra:
Watain (Swe) are going to release their album on June 5 in London, and VON is performing there as well. How did this show come into being? What are your thoughts on a band such as Watain, whom are highly influenced by VON?

Goat:
Let me remind you that it takes a lot of things to make one thing happen. Uniqueness is contagious.

VENIEN:
Watain reached out and this is our response. Influence is one thing, development & execution of individuality are another, both equally important factors, I believe Watain has earned both in my opinion.

Sitra Ahra:
Are you a bit nervous before this gig? As far as I’m aware, it’s your first live appearance in almost 20 years.

Goat:
I’d rather not say. That’s why were fortunately blessed with talented people that have the right instinct for Black Metal Music.

VENIEN:
Well, I can say this…I certainly see the darkness at the end of the tunnel.

Sitra Ahra:
There are lots of rumors circulating on the Internet that VENIEN and Goat are actually enemies, and that the gig in London is a hoax. What can you tell us about these so-called rumors?

Goat:
Life’s a bitch then you die.

VENIEN:
Rumors? There are rumors? Goat did you hear of such nonsense?

Sitra Ahra:
Back in the days when you started VON, did you ever think that VON would become such a huge black metal cult band? Do you think this happened in part due to the fact that Varg Vikernes of Burzum wore a VON shirt to one of his court trials?

Goat:
Yeah, of course we knew VON would be huge… I’m being completely ridiculous. I think that’s a very provocative question about the VON t-shirt and it’s appearance at that court case and I think it played a due part.

VENIEN:
Spoke with Varg last month about that shirt and other things, in fact a couple things that might happen you never know, keep you eyes peeled.

Sitra Ahra:
What bands influenced you in the early days? Reading VON’s biography, you pointed out that you were fed up with death metal because it became trendy and everyone was into it.

Goat:
What is it about that kind of dark and aggressive music that influenced us. There’s just something about the darker, less chord and more notes guitar style that called to me, us. If none else, I am proud to say that my guitar style contributed to a breaking of a new musical sound and genre.

VENIEN:
If I could play one individual note and it meant something, as opposed to 10,000 a song, it has stock! A song’s lasting meaning and what feeling it left when your eyes were closed, THAT’S! essentially what’s important in this shall we say experiment. Since the late 80’s and early 90’s, or even today, it’s been the same for me, influence can come from many things I will come to hate, but I listen anyways, and I take pieces of what I feel are useful to me. It’s the impression that is the influence. Being outside of your normal surroundings is an essential priority, sometimes it helps to gain perspective to move forward. All these sub-categories, opinions of what is what, fascinates me, and that eventually in itself becomes influential (a trend) at some degree for many of the younger soldiers that are cut from a darker cloth. I must admit, my circuits have always been wired to more of a raw & darker impression(s), be it through visual stimulation, photographic imagery, film, music, all of this to me is relative with similar outcomes.

Sitra Ahra:
What is VON’s opinion on religion and Satanism? Do you support Satanism or the black arts?

Goat:
I prefer not to speak about religion but there are supported answers that cause us to believe they exist.

VENIEN:
Again, I’ve said too many, organizations are just that, organized. Chaos, revolution, and individual thought are painful realities to come and what will ultimately prevail when our mighty SUN decides to expand.

Sitra Ahra:
How does VON see the present black metal scene? Are there any bands worth mentioning?

Goat:
I give thanks for where the present Black Metal Music is at. There are bands worth mentioning but their not together anymore. You don’t need to be together to be mentioned. What does that tell you about the present state of music?

VENIEN:
I agree with Goat on many levels. The incubation period is both an exciting and depressing time for anything, but once it gets to a stage like it is today, it’s difficult to maintain a quality or a unique factor. My years observing the metal scene, interviews after interviews, I see the same key phrases in them all, everyone takes from someplace or someone and makes it their own. You can hear and see it clear as day, there are those bands with passion as a driving force, and those that are not. It’s that simple, and that’s essentially in the scene, but to be fair, every era, every genre of music, goes through it.

Sitra Ahra: 
Besides VON, VENIEN and Goat also have other side projects. What can you tell us about your band VENIEN? How do you incorporate tribal elements into black metal? Is your music influenced by any specific tribe or cult?

VENIEN:
That’s a different interview.

Sitra Ahra:
For those who haven’t heard of Von Music Group (Von Records), could you tell us what it is, and what purpose it has regarding VON?

Goat:
Without revealing to much of something that is very personal to us, it has, so far, allowed (first and foremost) the outlet to be creative and secondly, to participate with the people and the genre of music we helped introduced.

VENIEN:
VMG (Von Records) is a platform, a collective, a group of individuals & VON is part of that foundation.

Sitra Ahra:
What are the future plans for VON? Do you have a full-length or more live gigs planned?

Goat:
We recorded a 7” with present line up. Songs include 3 of VON classics. Also there’s a new song were gonna play as VON in London. It’s called “Smothering” listen for it. Were trying to build more European gigs in and around the Nov 20th-Dec4th. We’re also planning to build a Black Metal festival here in Los Angeles.

VENIEN:
Our future starts with the Armageddon Festival, as Goat said, we will have a extremely limited 7” 3 track Vinyl up for grabs and a couple more exclusives to match, so don’t miss the show. There are a few individuals reaching out with some great ideas, a few of them appear in Europe as well as the USA, so we are seeing what works best for everyone and take it as we go and see where we end up. We will let you know really soon.

Sitra Ahra:
With all of this said, I wish you the best with your future plans and with the upcoming gig and Armageddon Festival in London. I’ll end now with a quote from one of your songs and leave the last words for you: “Kneel before me! Show no face! For thou blood tears show thy suffering! Blood VON! VON!”

Goat:
“Blood Von" is on the A-side of our new 7". Thanks.

VENIEN:
Lines are drawn…see you in London.

(Source: Sitra Ahra) *site defunct